Support for Swimming Parents 

Swimming parents all have one thing in common - they want the best for their children. As a priority, your child’s swimming experience should be an enjoyable one, one which builds confidence and self-esteem. Your involvement is vital to this experience, and can be enhanced by playing your role as part of a team.   

Each person within this ‘team’ has a specific role to play. Overlapping the roles becomes confusing and often detrimental to the swimmer. 

• The parent provides emotional and practical support for the athlete.
• The coach provides technical expertise, and motivation in the form of structure, vision and challenge.
• The athlete brings the raw material and the desire to succeed. 

Realise what is being done with your child now is part of a plan for the long-term development of your child’s swimming career. 

Provided below are two resources Moreton Bay Swimming recommend for parents of competitive swimmers, so they can learn more about their involvement and their role as a swimming parent.  

Swimming for Parents is a book available in soft-cover or as an e-book and is a vital resource for all swimming parents.

You will refer to it over and over again as your child progresses through the swimming world. This book has everything to enable you to assist your child to excel in the sport of swimming and in life. 

Swim Parent Advantage is an online membership programme available for parents of competitive swimmers. The programme contains all of the information in Swimming for Parents and includes more than 50 five minute interviews with a former Australian Head Coach on each topic. If you are a parent of a young swimmer starting out in squad training and competitive swimming, or a parent of junior or age group swimmers looking to support your child and their participation in competitive swimming as much as you can, then you will love this programme. As a bonus, you will also receive access to four 10-minute stroke models, one of each stroke, to share with your kids.